Political call heats up judicial race // audio recording

The Bay County Courthouse houses courtrooms and judicial offices. The race for circuit judge this year has been higher profile than in most years.

News Herald file photo

By CHRIS OLWELL | The News Herald

Published: Friday, August 1, 2014 at 09:40 PM.

PANAMA CITY—In 2013, incumbent 14th Judicial Circuit Judge James Fensom made a couple of lightning-rod decisions that upset some members of the legal and law enforcement communities. Now he is being challenged for his seat on the bench by Panama City attorney Gerard Virga and Bonifay attorney Shalene Grover.

Incumbent judges generally run unopposed for re-election, and races for contested seats are usually staid and somber compared to other races because the Florida Bar sets stringent limits on what judges can say and do in a campaign.

So a recent telephone message targeting Fensom struck some people as out of place in a judicial race. Fensom’s all mobbed-up, according to a robocall from a short-lived political committee with ties to one of Virga's biggest supporters.

Who is ‘Vinnie Bagadonuts’?

In the recording a mobster with an Italian affect and a name — “Vinnie Bagadonuts” — straight out of “The Sopranos,” thanks Fensom for calling Sheriff Frank McKeithen “a dirty rat.”

PANAMA CITY—In 2013, incumbent 14th Judicial Circuit Judge James Fensom made a couple of lightning-rod decisions that upset some members of the legal and law enforcement communities. Now he is being challenged for his seat on the bench by Panama City attorney Gerard Virga and Bonifay attorney Shalene Grover.

Incumbent judges generally run unopposed for re-election, and races for contested seats are usually staid and somber compared to other races because the Florida Bar sets stringent limits on what judges can say and do in a campaign.

So a recent telephone message targeting Fensom struck some people as out of place in a judicial race. Fensom’s all mobbed-up, according to a robocall from a short-lived political committee with ties to one of Virga's biggest supporters.

Who is ‘Vinnie Bagadonuts’?

In the recording a mobster with an Italian affect and a name — “Vinnie Bagadonuts” — straight out of “The Sopranos,” thanks Fensom for calling Sheriff Frank McKeithen “a dirty rat.”

Bagadonuts is likely referencing Fensom’s 2013 order to dismiss drug charges brought against a defendant by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

In his written order dismissing the case, Fensom didn't mince words;he called investigators’ conduct “outrageous” and described them as acting with a “clear intent to mislead and deceive” for secretly using a GPS tracking device on the suspect’s vehicle without a warrant or court order." McKeithen called Fensom's order an unwarranted attack.

The mobster doesn't explicitly support or oppose any candidate, but the insinuation is Fensom is soft on crime.

The recording ends with a declaration that the ad was paid for by “Veterans for the Vote.”

Attorney Waylon Graham came home to it on his voicemail, and he’s heard it several times since as it has spread through the local legal community “like fire,” Graham said.

He said most of the attorneys he’s talked to about the recording are appalled by it, particularly because judicial candidates are held to Florida Bar standards that are more restrictive than those set forth in Florida’s election laws. Judicial candidates can’t even solicit donations, let alone attack their opponents.

Graham, who knew Fensom growing up in Gulf County and has donated to his campaign, thought he recognized the voice of Vinnie Bagadonuts.

“It certainly sounds like Bill Price, and if it’s not Bill Price, it’s someone who does a great impersonation of him,” Graham said.

Price v. Fensom

Panama Cityattorney Bill Price did not respond to repeated requests for comment over several days.He’s never explicitly acknowledged a grudge against Fensom, but no other attorney has clashed with the judge so publicly.

Fensom charged Price with criminal contempt of court for Price’s behavior during a criminal trial in 2013. Fensom said Price violated several provisions of a pretrial order during an emotionally charged trial in a case that involved the death of a young woman.

Price, against Fensom’s order, referred to a transgendered witness who was born a man but self-identifies and lives as a woman as “mister,” and questioned whether she had psychological problems. He also referred to the possible sentence his client might receive if the jury returned with a guilty verdict, another no-no.

The charge against Price was a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, so he was not entitled to a jury trial. Fensom refused Price's attorney's request to recuse himself, and some attorneys were concerned Fensom's determination to decide charges he initiated violated Price's right to due process.

But the 1st District Court of Appeal gave Fensom its approval,and Price ultimately entered a no contest plea as the trial was about to begin. Fensom sentenced him to probation and required a letter of apology along with community service and legal evidence and ethics training.

In June 2013, a commenter on a News Herald story about the case wondered about the possibility of unseating Fensom in the election. Nine months later, after the case was resolved, Price responded.

“... I believe it's time to answer that question,” Price wrote. “Gerard Virga is running against Judge Fensom, and with your support, he'll defeat the judge.”

Committee ties to campaign?

Veterans for the Votes chairman John Furr and treasurer Kathryn Furr listed the address of the organization as 2615 Canal St. in Panama City. That’s the address for Gears Transmission and Auto Repair, of which John Furr and Kathryn Furr are listed as president and vice president, respectively.

Price is listed as the business's registered agent. He also is representing John Furr in an ongoing civil court case, and he has represented Kathryn Furr in the past as well.

Price has been perhaps Virga’s most visible supporter. He and his business have both made the maximum financial contribution to Virga's campaign, and Price has distributed campaign signs and handled fundraiser invitations on social media. He co-hosted a campaign event and appeared at many others, and he was up there with the candidate on the steps of the courthouse when Virga officially announced his candidacy.

Price is so close to the campaign a News Herald journalist mistakenly reported Price was Virga’s campaign manager because he was sending the paper announcements about the campaign kickoff and other events. But Price is only a volunteer for the campaign — though, because no one on the campaign staff is paid, everyone is a volunteer—and he’s never had any decision-making authority, Virga said.

Price and the Furrs have not explained their relationship or the recording, so it’s unclear if Price is the voice of Vinnie Bagadonuts.

Political committees are free to spend whatever they want on calls or ads and it doesn’t count as a campaign contribution, but if they coordinate with a candidate it counts as a campaign contribution, and political committees’ contributions are limited to $1,000, according to the Florida Division of Elections Political Committee Handbook.

Price is not officially connected to the campaign, so any coordination between him and Veterans for the Votes is “probably” lawful, said T. Wayne Bailey, a political science professor at Stetson University.

“But sometimes you have to say, ‘Give me a break,’ ” Bailey said. “There’s volunteering, and then there’s volunteering.”

Open and shut

Several attempts to reach John and Kathryn Furr were unsuccessful, and they did not respond to messages left at their business. Their foray into the world of politics was brief; according to the Division of Elections, they had never formed a political committee prior to forming Veterans for the Votes.

Veterans for the Votes was a political committee for less than two weeks, and the only action the committee took appears to be the creation of the Bagadonuts recording. It disbanded July 21.

It's not clear who was involved in the creation of the recording or how many people heard it.

Political committees are required to disclose spending, just like candidates, but only if they spend more than $500. On the Internet at least, robocalling services are pretty cheap; one Internet service quoted a price of $372 to robocall 5,000 phones with a 30-second message.

If Veterans for the Votes limited the number of phones it called and didn’t spend any other money on voice actors, the political committee might not be required to file any spending disclosures. The deadline for Veterans for the Vote to file any final disclosures was Friday.

‘Totally unacceptable’

Fensom didn’t want to discuss the recording.

“I’m just trying to run my campaign based on my qualifications,” Fensom said.

Virga said neither he nor anyone involved in an official capacity with his campaign authorized the recording or had any interaction with Veterans for the Votes aside from accepting a $25 donation from a Kathy Furr. His campaign will return the donation if it hadn’t already, he said.

He publicly denounced the recording immediately. In a post on Facebook that appears to have been removed, Virga urged civility in the campaign.

“Moments ago I learned of a voice recording thatis being circulated. The voice recording is offensive, and in my opinion totally unacceptable. The voice recording depicts a judicial candidate in an unflattering light.

“How one wins, or loses a races speaks volumes about their character. There is no place for character assassination in these races. Our campaign slogan has been ‘fairness, courtesy and respect.’ Any tactics such as the ones described above does not comport with the fundamental principles of the campaign.”

Virga said he hadn’t heard the recording until The News Herald provided him with a copy. Virga said the clichéd stereotype of the Italian as a criminal offended him personally, and judges should not be attacked for making controversial decisions.

He said he had not spoken to Price since he heard the recording, and he doesn’t know what role, if any, Price played in its dissemination. Virga said he has lots of supporters, and he can’t control what they do.